Referring to the threat of COVID-19 spread, Moscow authorities have imposed limits on holding mass events involving more than 5,000 people for one month.
However, Russian opposition does not exclude that the real issue behind the decision is not the coronavirus epidemic, but their intention to stage protests against ‘zeroing out’ the presidential terms served by Russia’s incumbent leader Vladimir Putin. On Tuesday, several groups of activists submitted applications to hold a rally on March, 21-22. According to the Civil Society movement, 25,000 people might show up at the would-be rally on Sakharov Avenue; the NGO Open Russia suggested that 50,000 Russians would take part in event they were about to hold in the same place.
But a few hours hours later on the same day, the decree on suspending mass events was signed by Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and posted on the official website.
When reached by Beksat, Tatiana Usmanova, a representative of Open Russia, said that they they had not specified the exact number of participants in the rally when filing the application.
“At the moment, we are waiting for an official response; we will act after receiving it. As for the coronavirus, I am afraid that the picture is mixed. I wish I werewrong, but the paper [decree by Sobyanin] was issued exactly after they had received applications from us and Mikhail Svetov [Chairman of Civil Society],” the activist stressed.
On March 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin assented to the deputies’ proposal to ‘zero out’ a number of presidential terms he served on condition that the Constitutional Court and Russian citizens approve it. Russia’s parliament passed the amendment; over 380 MPs were in favour of it, 43 voted against, one person abstained.
In 2018, it was the fourth time (not in a row) that Putin had assumed the presidential office.
